This invention relates to new and useful improvements in blood lancets of the disposable or throw-away type.
Conventional blood lancets are typically formed with a blade having converging sides that terminate in a sharp point. The blade is connected to a handle of one sort or another so that the lancet may be grasped by the person operating the same. These lancets are often of the reuseable type, which requires resterilization after each use. However, the preferred medical practice militates against repeated sterilization of the blood lancets just as the same standard of medical practice avoids resterilization of hypodermic needles. The primary reason for using one-time or throw-away lancets is, therefore, the same as in the case of hypodermic needles, namely the avoidance of the risk of cross infection resulting from improper sterilization. Moreover, just as hypodermic needles tend to become dull or barbed with repeated handling so is it with lancets which, in analogous way, may have their blades dulled or distorted from repeated handling or use.
Another problem with blood lancets of the conventional type lies in the fact that they tend to look ominous to the patient who is sometimes apprehensive about being punctured with any kind of surgical instrument. Thus, the exposed blade of the lancet may tend to induce unnecessarily an uncomfortable or disturbed feeling in the patient.
While blood samples may be drawn in connection with a variety of tests, one well-known test commonly performed is known as the bleeding time test. This test evaluates hemostatic integrity, particularly platelet function, by measuring the time required for primary arrestive bleeding. This test is reliable only when the vascular wound is produced in a standardized manner. Consequently, the bleeding time procedure has become standardized with lancets that permit a precise length and depth of incision. Moreover, the precise incision makes the test more acceptable to the patient and more convenient for the clincian who is trying to determine the adequacy of primary hemostasis.